Things You Can Do to Leave a Legacy...

Legacies are a major source of income for many nonprofits. The BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF) would love for BDPA leaders, founders and members to mention us in their will.

Here are things we want you to consider:

Prepare a will. Only 40% of those who pass away have one. Without a will, you may lose control over your personal possessions.

• Leave a gift in your will for BETF or any other non-profit organizations that make a difference in your life. Americans are generous - 70% of us give to charity each year. Surprisingly, less than 6% of persons in American households have included non-profits in an estate plan. Imagine the positive impact on our community if everyone made a donation to their favorite nonprofits!
• Leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the assets in your will to the non-profits of your choice.
  
• Consider using appreciated assets to fund current charitable gifts and planned gifts. These include, but are not limited to stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, real estate, vehicles, art and jewelry. Such gifts may even provide tax savings. Contact a professional advisor for advice.
• Name BETF as the beneficiary of your pension plan, IRA, retirement plan. Doing so can avoid estate and income taxes (up to 70%) that might otherwise be due on your plan. Be sure to seek the advice of an attorney or accountant when designating a charity as partial beneficiary of a retirement account.
• Name BETF (or your favorite non-profit) as the owner or beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy.
• Call BETF about supporting special BDPA chapter funds, Bemley Scholarship fund or the brand-new SITES Endowment Fund.
  
• Remember loved ones with memorial gifts.
• Encourage family and friends to leave gifts to BETF, or their favorite non-profit, in their will.
• Ask your financial advisor to include charitable giving as part of counsel to clients.

BETF would be honored to work with you on ways that your legacy can be used. We want to leverage your donation to make a difference in the lives of young people seeking to advance their careers in the IT industry from the classroom to the boardroom. Gifts left to BETF don't have to be big to be helpful. Many of you may be saying that you don't really have 'an estate'. But, if you leave $500, $1,000 or $2,500 to BETF, it can really help. ... A lot of people get caught up in the large numbers, but leaving $1,000 to the BETF can be a big help. Learn more from the folks at the Leave a Legacy organization.

Why Give? * Your Last Will & Testament

Make a Difference in the Lives that Follow
In life, most people require some kind of assistance, whether it’s physical, financial or spiritual. Perhaps a local church congregation or food bank supplied meals during a tough time. Maybe you were given a scholarship that made the dream of college possible. You or a loved one may have been shown especially compassionate care in the hospital during an illness or injury.

And during life’s struggles, we are often reminded that more must be done to continue positive, humane acts of kindness, and to sustain programs for personal enrichment. We wish more funding were available for medical research, for domestic abuse shelters, or a treasured arts or music program.

Charitable organizations, like the BDPA Education & Technology Foundation, need financial assistance from people like you to continue their work. More than 80 percent of Americans contribute to the nonprofit groups of their choice throughout their lifetimes. But according to research conducted in 2000, only around eight percent of people chose to continue this support through a charitable bequest.

By making bequests and other "planned gifts," you can continue to help organizations that are making an important difference in your community.

What better way to thank the people or organizations that have had an impact on your life, than to make a contribution from your estate through a bequest?

Gifts large and small are important. Charitable giving is not only for the wealthy!

• Q1 - I have children and relatives. Shouldn’t I leave my entire estate to them?
• A1 - This is perhaps the number one cause for reluctance when making a bequest. The truth is that, depending on the current tax laws, leaving a gift to charity in your will may reduce the estate tax burden on your heirs significantly. You should consult with a financial advisor or attorney to learn how giving may actually benefit your family after you’re gone.

Charitable Statistics: An Untapped Well of Good

• There are more than 260 million Americans, of whom approximately two million die each year.
• In 1996, 79,346 estate tax forms were filed with the federal government. (At the time, these forms were required for estates in excess of $600,000.) Eighteen percent of the forms listed a charitable gift.
• In other words, 82 percent of the nation's wealthiest individuals left nothing to charity.
• In addition, the IRS tells us that charity is getting a decreasing share of the money in these wealthy estates, from 21.8 percent in 1976 to 6.3 percent in 1992.
• According to a 2004 Associated Press news story, only 42 percent of adults have wills, a five percent drop since 2000.

If only 20 percent of Americans left a charitable bequest, the current number of charitable bequests would more than double. Imagine what the impact to charitable organizations would be if the 80 percent of Americans who give during their lifetimes also made a charitable gift through their estate plans!
I suppose that the question for BDPA members ... especially those of you that have been officers or members for over ten years ... can you update your will to include BDPA in it?

Take Five: Harvetta Kashka (Los Angeles)

Harvetta Kashka is a long-time BDPA member. She was a key volunteer on a number of national conference teams as well as a part of the original financial team for the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF). She has spent the past few months helping create the SITES Endowment Fund within BETF.

She agreed to participate in our Take Five interview series:

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1. How did you get involved in working with BDPA? - A BDPA Los Angeles meeting announcement was placed on the company bulletin board; since I was looking to do volunteer work, I went to the meeting. I worked in downtown Los Angeles, and the meeting was held at one of the downtown businesses. The memorable thing about my first meeting was the number of people in attendance, especially Blacks in IT. Historically, I had found myself to be the only Black IT person attending many IT training classes and conferences.
   
   I felt that I could contribute to the organization, so I joined the LA Chapter in 1983. I went on to be the LA Chapter Treasurer in the 1983 election (since I had a BS degree in Accounting); and I helped the chapter with the National BDPA Conference held in LA in 1984. You might say, the rest is history as I later served as National BDPA Finance Chair, National BDPA Conference Finance Chair, and was on the BDPA Team that formed the BETF, and served for a number of years as the BETF Treasurer.


2. What is the most rewarding aspect of working with BDPA? - Since I was a project manager when I joined BDPA-LA, I was able to be a resource to others looking for IT jobs. It was very rewarding to reach out and help other Blacks in IT. In BDPA, I really learned the true meaning of networking. Over the years, I have made friends from coast-to-coast and border-to-border. Some of my closest and life-long friends, I met through BDPA. Being a member of the financial BDPA team, it was especially rewarding to be able to acquire funding for the high school computer competition (HSCC) teams. Words can not express how rewarding it is to see all the youth that attend the National BDPA HSCC championships each year.


3. Tell us about a defining moment in your life? - During the 20+ years I was an active member of BDPA, it is difficult to find a single defining moment. However, I have developed friendships with people in BDPA that have been with me through thick and thin.


4. Who is your hero and why? - I have 2 heroes in BDPA, Earl Pace and Gerri McClamy. I’m just in awe, when I think of the vision Earl had to create an organization like BDPA during a time when Blacks in IT were few and far between. Earl is a gentle giant, and has always offered his professional expertise to BDPA Chapters, National office, and the BETF.
   
   Many in BDPA are not aware of the contributions Gerri made to the National BDPA Conference. As a member of her conference team for 5 years, Gerri introduced BDPA to national companies that had previously shunned the organization, and obtained their support.


5. Any advice for people considering donation to BETF? - With the advent of H1-B visas and international outsourcing, Blacks in IT lost a lot of ground in corporate IT shops. BDPA and BETF have been instrumental in keeping our plight in front of the lawmakers and corporations. During these hard economic times, it is very important to help fund the programs that support Blacks in IT. Since BETF is the 501(c)3 charitable arm of BDPA, it makes good business sense to donate to BETF, by whatever means possible. For the baby boom generation who are nearing retirement, think about leaving a charitable donation to BETF in your “will”.

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Harvetta's interview reminded me of some of the great times in BDPA. I hope you enjoyed her interview just as much as I did!